The Silo Art Trail

The Silo Art Trail

Words and pictures by Eliesha Rae.

“To travel the entire 200-kilometre Silo Art Trail from one end (Julia Volchkova’s Rupanyup) to the other (Fintan Magee’s Patchewollock), it should take a little over two hours,” the Silo Art Trail website informs me. Sounds doable. So that’s how I convinced my husband to do it with me, in one day, on the way to Adelaide.

I declined to mention the second paragraph, which goes on to recommend spending the night somewhere along the trail, and booking in advance…

Oh – and the fact that it’s a hell of a long way from Melbourne to even get to the first silo.

The Silo Art Trail is one of those inspired ideas, which started as a one-off project and has grown into six (and more!) huge, impressive works of public art on a series of disused grain silos in the Wimmera Mallee area. The project saw a team of renowned artists from Australia and across the world visit the region, meet the locals and transform each grain silo into an epic work of art; each one telling a unique story about the host town.

Billed as Australia’s largest outdoor gallery, chances are, the Silo Art Trail is unlike any gallery you’ve seen before.

Our first sighting of anything even remotely silo related came after a couple (I’m rounding down) of wineries, countless rounds of 20 Questions, a toilet and sausage sizzle break, an empty bag of pretzels and a good three hours of driving.

It was then that we finally got a sign.

An actual sign. A blue sign. One of those tourism-related activities signs, you know the ones – it boldly proclaimed “SILO” in all caps Highway Gothic and it pointed in a completely different direction to the one in which Google maps was encouraging us to go.

So we followed it, wouldn’t you?

I’m here to tell you that Google maps is, in fact, more trustworthy than blue tourism activities signs. But we got there in the end and it’s actually quite hard to describe the impact of seeing a ghostly portrait or vast purple night sky rise out of the dry fields of the Mallee, but trust me, these murals are pretty extraordinary.

Silo #1: Rupanyup (Julia Volchkova)

Rupanyup’s silo art is the work of Russian mural artist, Julia Volchkova, who turned her attention to the town’s youth and their great love of team sport.

The featured faces are those of Rupanyup residents and local sporting team members, Ebony Baker and Jordan Weidemann. Fresh-faced and dressed in their sports attire, Baker and Weidemann embody a youthful spirit of strength, hope and camaraderie.

Rendered on a squat pair of conjoined Australian Grain Export steel grain silos, the delicately nuanced monochromatic work is typical of Volchkova’s realist portraiture style.

Accomplished over several weeks and unveiled in early 2017, the mural quietly honours the integral role that sport and community play in rural Australian populations.

Assorted thoughts: It’s beautiful, but I expected it to be bigger. I’m really glad we have a wide-angle lens. Is there anywhere to buy water in this town? Spoiler: there is.

Silo #2: Sheep Hills (Adnate)

Throughout his career, Melbourne-based artist, Adnate has used his work to tell the stories of Indigenous people and their native lands. In 2016, Adnate developed a friendship with the Barengi Gadjin Land Council in north-west Victoria and found his inspiration for this mural.

GrainCorp’s Sheep Hills silos were built in 1938. Adnate’s depiction of Wergaia Elder, Uncle Ron Marks, and Wotjobaluk Elder, Aunty Regina Hood, alongside two young children, Savannah Marks and Curtly McDonald celebrates the richness of the area’s Indigenous culture. The night sky represents elements of local dreaming and the overall image signifies the important exchange of wisdom, knowledge and customs from Elders to the next generation.

Assorted thoughts: Now this is more like it. This thing is MASSIVE! Why are there so many pigeons? Can I touch it? * Oh god, it’s full of pigeons, why?? Holy shit this thing is amazing. It might be even cooler close up. How long can we stay here?

It was also around this point that we started looking at every silo we passed with deep suspicion (and there are A LOT of silos in the Wimmera Mallee). “Are you concealing something spectacular?” We would ponder. “Should we drive over there and check?” Maybe one day all the silos will be amazing works of art and we’ll need to spend weeks driving from one to the next, marvelling at their impressiveness, but that day has not yet come. Moving on.

Silo #3: Brim (Guido van Helten)

Guido van Helten’s iconic Brim mural was the first silo artwork to appear in Victoria, and soon infused the town’s community with newfound energy and optimism. After gaining widespread local and international attention, Brim’s silo art success shone a spotlight on the Wimmera Mallee region and inspired the establishment of the Silo Art Trail.

Completed in early 2016, with limited financial resources, van Helten’s mural depicts an anonymous, multi-generational quartet of female and male farmers. Rendered across four 1939-built GrainCorp silos, van Helten’s subjects bear expressions that exemplify the strength and resilience of the local farming community.

Assorted thoughts: Should we be trying to take more “artistic” photos of these things? For the mag? Or even just for the gram? Let’s take a photo of it in the reflection of this puddle. Holy shit – that is amazing. We should definitely be trying to take more artistic photos. Should we try taking one in the car’s rear-view mirror? *Twenty minutes later* - No, we should not.

Silo #4: Rosebery (Kaff-eine)

Before commencing work in Rosebery, Melbourne artist, Kaffeine spent time in the Mallee assisting fellow artist Rone on his Lascelles silo project. During this time, Kaff-eine travelled to neighbouring towns, discovering the natural environment and acquainting herself with local business owners, families, farmers and children – all with the view to developing a concept for the Rosebery GrainCorp silos, which date back to 1939.

Completed in late 2017, Kaff-eine’s artwork depicts themes that she says embody the region’s past, present and future.

Assorted thoughts: How many colours are in that painting? These things are incredible. How much did the artists get paid? Wait, did they get paid? I’m going to google it. Crap, Google was no help.

Silo #5: Lascelles (Rone)

In order to capture the true essence of Lascelles, Melbournebased artist, Rone knew that he had to learn about the town from those who were deeply connected to it. At the Lascelles silo, he depicts local farming couple Geoff and Merrilyn Horman, part of a family that has lived and farmed in the area for four generations.

In mid-2017 Rone worked for two weeks to transform the two 1939-built GrainCorp silos. He went to great lengths to paint in the silo’s existing raw concrete tones to produce a work that would integrate seamlessly into its environment. Utilising this muted monochrome palette, he added water to his paint as a blending tool to produce a ghostly, transparent effect – a signature of his distinctive painting style.

Assorted thoughts: I love Rone. Wow, this one is hard to get to. Ooops, wrong turn, that is a train track. OK – this is it. Wow. Seriously though.

Silo #6: Patchewollock (Fintan Magee)

To prepare for his Patchewollock mural, Brisbane artist, Fintan Magee booked a room at the local pub to immerse himself in the community and get to know its people. When he met local sheep and grain farmer, Nick “Noodle” Hulland, Magee knew he had found his muse.

Why Hulland? According to Magee, the rugged, lanky local exemplified the no-nonsense, hardworking spirit of the region. Perhaps more importantly though, Noodle had just the right height and leanness to neatly fit onto the narrow, 35-metrehigh canvas of the twin 1939-built GrainCorp silos.

Assorted thoughts: Well that was a big drive, but this looks pretty incredible at sunset. Let’s just sit down and look at it for a while. How cool does his flanny look? OK – so what now?

Hot tip – if you make it this far, there is only one place to stay – The Patche Hotel and we were lucky enough that they had one room left for the night. Pre-booking would have been smart.

If I had my time again, I’d break up the trip. According to the Silo Art Trail website, there is a lot more to see in the area – lakes and museums and other murals, oh my – and it would be awesome to do the whole thing at a slightly more leisurely pace.

A picnic and a wine beneath a towering silo is beckoning.I think I’ll be back.

The Silo Art Trail

The Silo Art Trail

This article is from:

Uncover Magazine - Volume 3